Microfabricated Reference Electrodes and their Biosensing Applications

Over the past two decades, there has been an increasing trend towards miniaturization of both biological and chemical sensors and their integration with miniaturized sample pre-processing and analysis systems. These miniaturized lab-on-chip devices have several functional advantages including low cost, their ability to analyze smaller samples, faster analysis time, suitability for automation, and increased reliability and repeatability. Electrical based sensing methods that transduce biological or chemical signals into the electrical domain are a dominant part of the lab-on-chip devices. A vital part of any electrochemical sensing system is the reference electrode, which is a probe that is capable of measuring the potential on the solution side of an electrochemical interface. Research on miniaturization of this crucial component and analysis of the parameters that affect its performance, stability and lifetime, is sparse. In this paper, we present the basic electrochemistry and thermodynamics of these reference electrodes and illustrate the uses of reference electrodes in electrochemical and biological measurements. Different electrochemical systems that are used as reference electrodes will be presented, and an overview of some contemporary advances in electrode miniaturization and their performance will be provided

Relaxation and intermediate asymptotics of a rectangular trench in a viscous film

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Determination of solid phase chemical diffusion coefficient and density of states by electrochemical methods : Application to iridium oxide-based thin films

Potentiostatic intermittent titration technique (PITT) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were investigated as methods to determine solid phase chemical diffusion coefficient (D) and electronic density of states (DOS). These techniques were then applied to iridium oxide (IrOx) and iridium-tantalum oxide (IrTaOx) thin films prepared by sputter deposition. The experiments, performed in 1M propionic acid between -0.2 and 0.8 V vs Ag/AgCl, showed effects of interfacial side reactions, whose contribution to the electrochemical response could be identified and corrected for in the case of PITT as well as EIS. It was found that D is strongly underestimated when using PITT with the common Cottrell formalism, which follows from non-negligible interfacial charge transfer and Ohmic resistances. EIS indicated an anomalous diffusion mechanism, and D was determined to be in the 10(-11)-10(-10) cm(2)/s range for IrOx and IrTaOx. Both PITT and EIS showed that the intercalated charge as a function of potential exhibits a shape that resembles the theoretical DOS of crystalline iridium oxide, especially for IrTaOx

Micropipette force sensors for in vivo force measurements on single cells and multicellular microorganisms

Measuring forces from the piconewton to millinewton range is of great importance for the study of living systems from a biophysical perspective. The use of flexible micropipettes as highly sensitive force probes has become established in the biophysical community, advancing our understanding of cellular processes and microbial behavior. The micropipette force sensor (MFS) technique relies on measurement of the forces acting on a force-calibrated, hollow glass micropipette by optically detecting its deflections. The MFS technique covers a wide micro- and mesoscopic regime of detectable forces (tens of piconewtons to millinewtons) and sample sizes (micrometers to millimeters), does not require gluing of the sample to the cantilever, and allows simultaneous optical imaging of the sample throughout the experiment. Here, we provide a detailed protocol describing how to manufacture and calibrate the micropipettes, as well as how to successfully design, perform, and troubleshoot MFS experiments. We exemplify our approach using the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, but by following this protocol, a wide variety of living samples, ranging from single cells to multicellular aggregates and millimeter-sized organisms, can be studied in vivo, with a force resolution as low as 10 pN. A skilled (under)graduate student can master the technique in ~1–2 months. The whole protocol takes ~1–2 d to finish.Peer reviewe